Goal: To show an understanding of the
text and NOT simply re-tell or
summarize the plot.
Basic Literary Analysis
• Choose a way to analyze a text:
–Ex:
• Theme
• Symbolism
• Character Analysis
• Regional Influence (Naturalism)
• etc
Basic Literary Analysis
• Use quotations from the text that
illustrate your point and then explain
them.
Format
• Introduction:
– “Hook” to get the reader’s attention.
– Title and author of work with brief info about
the work.
– Thesis which states the literary element you are
analyzing and what you hope to prove in your
paper.
Format
• Body Paragraphs:
– Each paragraph should be focused on a certain
idea connected to the thesis
– Use “The Three I-ed Monster” to build each
paragraph. (We’ll discuss this
in a minute!)
Format
• Conclusion
– Sum up your argument.
– Do NOT introduce any new quotes or information.
– Use a strong concluding
statement
Writing a Strong Body Paragraph
The Three I-ed Monster
• Identify
• Integrate
• Interpret
The Three I-ed Monster - Identify
• Identify which words from a text you want to use
in your paper.
• Use the strongest portion of the text that fits
your topic.
• Avoid using quotations of more than three
sentence unless absolutely
necessary.
• Use quotation marks around
direct quotes
• Use parenthetical documentation
to cite your source.
The Three I-ed Monster - Integrate
• Mix the words of your source in with your own
words to introduce your quote.
• Do not allow your quotation to “float” (to be in a
sentence all by itself without words of your own).
• NO: “The use of fire imagery shows that the main character is in a
constant state of turmoil.” (Jones 24)
• YES: Fire is present throughout the
book and it “shows that the character
is in a constant state of turmoil”
(Jones 24).
The Three I-ed Monster - Interpret
• Think about: How does analyzing literature in this
way help us to understand the text, ourselves,
and/or our wold in general?
• Explain:
– how this quotation fits into the thesis of your
paper
– why it is important in understanding
the text
– What this quote tells us about the
text and/or life
Thesis formula:
_____'s (author) _____ (genre) ______ (title) is
about _____ (one-word abstract idea) and reveals
______ (developing idea into thematic statement).
Example:
In Ray Bradbury’s story There Will Come Soft Rains, the
post-apocalyptic world and automated house
demonstrate the dangers of technological advances
in society.
James Thurber’s short story The Secret Life of Walter
Mitty is about escaping reality and reveals how one
man uses elaborate fantasies to combat the
increasing inadequacy he feels from everyone in his
real life.
•
a. Because readers sympathize with Sonny, the drug addict in the story, rather than with
his brother, the narrator, "Sonny's Blues" presents a complex picture of drug use as a
means of coping with sorrow and fear.
b. In "Sonny's Blues," James Baldwin writes about two brothers attempting to repair
their relationship.
c. Both of the characters in "Sonny's Blues" -- Sonny and the narrator -- change over the
course of the story.
d. In "Sonny's Blues," Baldwin uses four female characters, three of whom are mothers
and one of whom is an artist, to establish his theme that there's no way to avoid
suffering in life.
e. By the end of "Sonny's Blues," the narrator is liberated from his warped personality;
he finally begins to feel, which means he will be freed from his fear and sadness.
f. Though many people would view the narrator as too conservative and, for most of
the story, not caring enough toward his brother, the narrator's failings are easy to
understand. Often, the only way to gain a foothold in life is to ignore people whose
lifestyles or behaviors threaten your stability.
g. Sonny's friend, who approaches the narrator at the beginning of the story, tells the
reader a great deal about the world in which the brothers live.
Well-organized paragraphs have four components that work
together to produce a coherent, unified product.
Think of each paragraph (and response) as a mini-essay
endeavoring to prove one aspect of your thesis statement.
That is, each paragraph should
• make a debatable claim (the topic sentence/point)
• provide proof for that claim (evidence/support/example)
• show how the evidence supports the claim
(the analysis/explanation)
• contain effective transitions both within the paragraph
and between paragraphs so that the reader can
follow the logic of the argument (transitions).
• Topic sentence
– The topic sentence  paragraph
thesis entire paper
– states the claim or argument (point) of that paragraph.
– asserts a claim that will support one part of the paper's larger thesis.
• THESIS: By the end of "Sonny's Blues," the narrator is liberated
from his warped personality; he finally begins to feel, which
means he will be freed from his fear and sadness.
•
This paper has a lot to prove. It must begin by proving that the narrator does indeed
have a "warped" personality.
• TOPIC SENTENCE: Though the narrator may be sympathetic
because his brother is addicted to heroin, he actually begins as
a hardened, unfeeling man. Two scenes show his lack of
compassion.
• Notice that, like a thesis, a topic sentence can be more than one
sentence if necessary.
• Support: Support, evidence, or example usually refers
to quotations from or paraphrase of the literary work.
• Without support, your topic sentence will go unproven
and your paragraph will fall flat. (If your topic sentence
does not seem to require support, it probably isn't an
effective topic sentence to begin with).
• Working with the topic sentence before, we might use
the following two pieces of evidence:
– 1. The way the narrator treats and thinks about Sonny's
friend (pp. 49-50).
– 2. The narrator's flashback to his encounter with Sonny in
the Greenwich Village (p. 62).
• These examples are from early in the story because the
topic sentence says “he begins.” They illustrate the way
the narrator is at the beginning.
Analysis:
• tell your reader how you want him or her to understand the quotation you have
provided as support.
• can't necessarily assume that your reader will draw the same conclusions you
have drawn from the evidence.
• For example:
opposite: the narrator's treatment of Sonny's friend is kind, because he gives
the friend a cigarette and some money.
•
Blue sentences are primarily analytical/Red ones convey the evidence (cite example)
• The narrator shows how cruel and unfeeling he is when he meets Sonny's friend on
the street. Adopting a sarcastic tone, the narrator questions the friend's motives
when he asks, "You come all the way down here to just tell me about Sonny?" This
tone demonstrates that the narrator doubts the friend truly cares for Sonny. The
narrator also swears at the friend, saying, "you're pretty goddamn smart, I bet,"
and offers him no sympathy for his "sad story," declaring that he wishes the friend
had a pistol so he could kill himself (49). These reactions to the friend show the
narrator's anger at the situation Sonny is in, but also convey a stark lack of
compassion for those less fortunate than himself. In fact, the narrator's anger
seems to fuel his lack of compassion. In the flashback scene, the narrator reveals he
has been angry with Sonny before, for when the narrator visits Sonny in his
Greenwich Village apartment, he tells Sonny that he "might just as well be dead as
live the way he was living" (62). These scenes depict the narrator's warped
personality; his anger and fear have made him cruel, almost sadistic, making him
unfeeling and inhumane.
•
•
•
Transitions: Lets the reader know where the argument is going.
"for example," "for instance," "therefore," "however," and "also"
More complex transitions can be whole phrases or even sentences that show how the writer
is moving from one idea to another.
•
•
Re-read it now and notice how it incorporates each of the required components
Though many readers may sympathize with the narrator because his brother is addicted to
heroin, the narrator actually begins as a hardened, unfeeling man. Two scenes show his lack
of compassion. The narrator first shows how cruel and unfeeling he is when he meets
Sonny's friend on the street. Adopting a sarcastic tone, the narrator questions the friend's
motives: "You come all the way down here to just tell me about Sonny?" We can see in this
tone that the narrator doubts that the friend truly cares for Sonny. The narrator also swears
at the friend, saying "you're pretty goddamn smart, I bet," and offers him no sympathy for
his "sad story," declaring that he wishes the friend had a pistol so he could kill himself
(49). These reactions to the friend show the narrator's anger at the situation Sonny is in,
but they also convey a stark lack of compassion for those less fortunate than himself. In
fact, the narrator's anger seems to fuel his lack of compassion. In the flashback scene, we
find out that the narrator has been angry with Sonny before, for when the narrator visits
Sonny in his Greenwich Village apartment, he tells Sonny that he "might just as well be dead
as live the way he was living" (62). These scenes depict the narrator's warped personality;
his anger and fear have made him cruel, almost sadistic in wishing for the deaths of his
brother and his brother's friend.
•
Not only is the narrator cruel and unfeeling toward those he views as hopeless deadbeats,
but he lacks emotion in his dealings with his wife and mother.
– Notice here how the transition and the topic sentence (in italics) have been woven
together into a single sentence.